bigpicture7
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Does anyone else think steakhouses seem really old fashioned? I’m a pretty avid foodie and eat at restaurants of all price points, but never at steakhouses. I don’t even hear people talk about them. And yet they seem to be popping up like weeds. Maybe tourists eat at them? Or an older demographic (I’m 38)?
I'm just slightly older than you. I have a different take. I certainly pick up on the same vibe (i.e., not a "fresh" concept, not many young people interested, etc)...but I definitely think there's still a market for this, including among not-particularly-old people. My wife and I tend to go to high-ish price point steakhouse a couple of times a year specifically when "it's not about the restaurant," meaning that we want to celebrate something and we want the restaurant to basically be invisible. And by invisible, I mean: you get amazing service, predictable/consistent food quality, you do not even need to THINK about the menu or what drink you are going to order...and everything just "works"...so that the anniversary/promotion/milestone birthday/etc can be all that matters. The same goes for business meals when the foody-ness of a restaurant can actually be a distraction; during a business meal, you want to be able to order in like 10 seconds so that it doesn't awkwardly interrupt the conversation (i.e., it's important that you not seem to care about what you're ordering). The classic steakhouse trades novelty/innovation/cutting-edge for, instead, impeccable service and consistency. There will always be a time and place for that, IMO.
(That said, there are definitely some "dusty" classic steakhouses out there that should be taken out to pasture, but that's a different point).
So back to your observation; yeah, foodies don't go to steakhouses. I distinctly step out of my foodie-personhood when I step into a steakhouse. But that's the whole point.
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